Notable deaths of 2011 - by aby benedict

John Chamberlain

( Librado Romero / Associated Press )

A free-form sculptor, John Chamberlain crafted works from masses of crushed cars and automobile sheet metal. He was 84

Kim Jong Il

( Dmitry Astakhov / Itar-Tass / Abaca Press / MCT )

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, the mercurial strongman who styled himself as a "Dear Leader" while ruling over an impoverished police state, defied and baffled the world with his nuclear aims and bizarre actions. He was 69

Vaclav Havel

( Petr David Josek / Associated Press )

A former dissident playwright, Havel was the revered first president of Czechoslovakia after it overthrew Communist rule in 1989. His slogan: "May truth and love triumph over lies and hatred." He was 75

Christopher Hitchens

( Christian Witkin / TwelveBooks )

The British American's polemical writings on religion, politics, war and other hot-button topics established him as a leading public intellectual. His openness about having cancer elicited thousands of letters and emails to Vanity Fair, where he was a longtime contributor. He was 62.

George Whitman

( Kristin Jackson / Seattle Times )

Over the years, George Whitman sheltered about 50,000 young, struggling writer types for free at his legendary Paris bookshop Shakespeare & Co. on the Left Bank. It also was a magnet for writers like Allen Ginsberg, Anais Nin and Lawrence Durrell. He was 98

Bert Schneider

( Associated Press )

The iconoclastic producer of "Easy Rider," "Five Easy Pieces," "The Last Picture Show" and the Oscar-winning "Hearts and Minds" helped filmmakers break out of the studio system. Schneider also co-created the Monkees, the popular made-for-TV rock quartet modeled on the Beatles who starred in their own Emmy-winning sitcom from 1966 to 1968. He was 78

Harry Morgan

Emmy Award-winning Harry Morgan played LAPD Officer Bill Gannon opposite Jack Webb in "Dragnet" and Col. Sherman T. Potter in the hit series "MASH." He also appeared on the Broadway stage and in more than 50 films. Above, Morgan, right, with "MASH" costars Alan Alda and Mike Farrell. He was 96.

Hubert Sumlin

( Paul Hawthorne / Getty Images )

Hubert Sumlin's snarling guitar helped define Howlin' Wolf's sound. Though Sumlin never attained a fraction of the fame of his celebrated boss, he is revered by fellow blues musicians. He was 80

Socrates

( Reuters )

Socrates, the former Brazilian soccer great known for his elegant style on the field and his deep involvement with Brazilian politics, was captain of the country's 1982 World Cup team. Above, Socrates, left, fights with Northern Ireland's Ian Stewart for the ball during a World Cup match in 1986. He was 57

Patricia Dunn

( Chris Kleponis / Bloomberg News )

The Hewlett-Packard chairwoman rose from secretary to leader of a financial firm before joining the HP board. She resigned in 2006 after it was revealed that she approved spying on other board members. She was 58.

Moammar Kadafi

( John Redman / Associated Press )

Erratic and mercurial, the Libyan leader fancied himself a political philosopher, practiced an unorthodox, deadly diplomacy and cut an at times cartoonish figure in robes and sunglasses and surrounded by female guards. He was 69.